Clive Palmer (Fairfax, Palmer United Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

We have limited time on this earth. Time for all of us is limited. Indeed, time is the enemy in our lives—our time in this place and our time to recognise the shortcomings and inadequacy of the system to see what can be done to change that and to make our life and the life of all Australians better. The government was elected over six months ago. There were a lot of competing priorities for the Prime Minister and all ministers of the government. During the past six months there has been serious hardship suffered by Australians due to drought, bushfires and radical changes in the economic future of this country.

Government, by its very nature, is slow to act, and parliament is slower to take action. But when there is an actual disaster and major economic needs, then the response of government needs to be better than it is. The financial muscle of the Commonwealth has really been flexed to assist Australians in a time of need. All of us are diminished by the injustice that has been done to many Australians because the system of government has been slow to respond. I realise I am but one member of this House and that in introducing this bill I cannot be sure that it will get the support of the government or the opposition. But I hope it can. It is not meant to be critical of government or the opposition. It is not about Liberal policy or Labor policy; it is about the right policy. It is not about getting political kudos; it is more about realising we need to do better.

This bill is not a financial measure. It is merely to pursue an idea that this House should establish a parliamentary committee to investigate and report back to the House on the establishment of Australia Fund, which would be a body rather than a fund, and would have the resources of the Commonwealth to act decisively in time of need, to determine what needs to be done to ensure that when natural disasters such as droughts, bushfires or floods are encountered, there are automatic measures in place to ensure Australians do not have to wait for the government to take action.

Suicide is often a companion of misfortune; when Australians lose hope in the future, they are isolated and overcome with a feeling of guilt and responsibility of their families and children. If we act more decisively, more lives can be saved.

This bill is to investigate the response time for government to mobilise and to consider how we can dramatically improve the best and most responsible responses. It took the government over six months to respond to the current drought. I am not convinced the opposition would have been any quicker. It is not about blame. I know the minister and the government did all they thought they could do in the circumstances. When we consider the current drought assistance package announced by the government, the question has to be asked: could it have been more inclusive and been targeted at a wider industry and more communities? The package seems to be targeted at beef and sheep properties. I commend the government for providing it, but there are more things to consider than cattle and sheep. Most rural towns and businesses rely on their trade, employment and small-scale manufacturing of the rural industries to support them. There are many rural properties that are involved in primary production that have not received any real assistance at all. I do not think this was by design of the government but the government's advice, or any government advice may have been limited. It is time this House investigated if Australia can handle these situations better for the benefit of all Australians and the taxpayer.

There are many challenges to face to ensure that economic policy in manufacturing is encouraged in this country, that Australia does what it does best and that government policy does not cause businesses to go broke. Our enterprises need, for legitimate reasons, to become more efficient and viable in the future. If they suffer some temporary disadvantage due to an adverse or unfair government policy or inaction, then the resolution of such issues are not dependent on the political process; rather we would have a proactive group which, once established, can act decisively, if needed, to preserve Australia's interest.

The fact remains that the Australian government is the No. 1 petitioner of bankruptcies and company liquidations in this county and the No. 1 destroyer of jobs and enterprises. If business could continue to trade—and jobs not be lost—the government and the taxpayer would be the winners. It does not make sense for the government to move people from productive employment to unemployment and Centrelink when their enterprise can continue and be sold to more capable management.

If you look at the productivity of Australia today compared with yesterday, the Productivity Commission has a lot to answer for. Government needs sound advice not just from academics but from experienced wealth creators to form common-sense policies. The bill is just for this House to allow the setting up of a group of the House to consider these issues and report back to the House. The purpose of this bill is to establish a joint parliamentary committee to investigate establishing the Australia Fund. Such a fund would be designed to support and assist reconstruction of Australian rural and manufacturing industries in times of crisis, including natural disasters such as drought floods and bushfires, world financial crises and unfair market intervention or manipulation.

It is envisaged that the Australia Fund would have the ability, on the basis of an assessment of industry or business, to: provide emergency relief and ongoing assistance in the event of drought, flood or bushfire; loan money to businesses; act as a guarantor for loans; capitalise; waive interest; purchase existing bank loans; and assume control of relevant property of businesses for a specified time. In this way, the body would be designed to enable business to continue operations, earn revenue, employ workers and pay taxes rather than being prematurely wound up. It would support communities affected by natural disasters.

It would also provide funds for industry and company restructuring and the acquisition of new technologies to make businesses more viable and internationally competitive. As part of its investigation as to the need for the fund, the committee would undertake hearings in all capital cities and major rural centres, and would specifically examine the impact on rural Australia of the ongoing drought and world market price fluctuations for primary industry production.

The committee's terms of reference would also include reviewing existing bankruptcy and insolvency laws with the aim of introducing legislation designed to assist governments to trade through difficult times, rather than be closed down. The existing taxation laws relating to bankruptcy will also be reviewed. The possible introduction of an equivalent of the United States chapter 11 provisions would also be investigated.

A ministry of support to the committee could be provided by the House or Senate departments. At the completion of its inquiry, the committee would table before parliament its detailed report and its findings and recommendations. I commend the bill to the House.

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think the initiative by the new and honourable member for Fairfax is very timely, very pressing. Some dozen suicides have occurred in the six months in which we have waited for an assistance package, and there is not a single person in any of the rural industries that considers the package that is out there now adequate. I am not saying this by way of condemnation of the government; I will not hesitate to condemn the government. I join the member for Fairfax in saying that where there are complex issues that the very new government do not understand, they have to get their heads around them and act in a more responsible manner.

There is an inquiry taking place on the GFC. That money had to go out there quickly, very quickly. If we had this fund then that money would not have had to go out there quickly. A young man in my electorate, in the Atherton area, was a very inexperienced worker who died in a crawl space putting batts in; he would not have died if this had been in place. If this had been in place, a number of those suicides that took place in Queensland would not have taken place. Whilst I am pointing to the very sharp end of the issue, there is no doubt in my mind that not all of the motor vehicle industry can be saved but at least one of those companies could definitely be saved by using government contracts. There is not the slightest question about that. And that is done in every other country on earth. But we need something to buy time so that those huge factories that are set up are not lost, and all the technology and know-how dissipated. This is a buying-time operation.

We got black sigatoka. By the time the money was marshalled, the amount of money needed to suppress the disease had gone up 10-fold. So instead of needing $10 million to deal with three farms, because of the time frame of deciding how it could be done, nearly 200 farms had to be addressed. Whilst I have been vehement in my criticism of the government, trying desperately to put pressure on them to move quickly, I can see the mistakes they have already made in acting in what they would probably consider precipitously. We could avoid that situation by an emergency fund, a buying-time fund—whatever you want to call it. There is an enormous requirement for a general fund for this purpose. At the present moment the three great industries that comprise nearly half of our exports in this country are aluminium, iron ore and coal. (Time expired)

Debate adjourned.